PP Cádiz demands Algeciras mayor resign after second alleged abuse complaint

Party demands resignation

The Cádiz branch of the Partido Popular (PP) asked Algeciras mayor José Ignacio Landaluce to resign immediately on Monday, 12 October, after receiving testimony from two women who are PP members and have filed complaints against him for alleged sexual abuse. Provincial president Bruno García met the party's councillors that afternoon and instructed them to withdraw their support for the mayor, request his resignation and give up their roles in the governing team if he refuses. Councillors who do not back the proposal will face an internal file, according to the party. The PP says it will take all necessary steps to recover control of the city if Landaluce stays in office. In its statement, the party said:

Both women have described conduct that we consider improper of any person and especially incompatible with the responsibility and exemplarity required of a mayor.

Two complaints

The first complaint was filed with the Supreme Court in early September, because Landaluce held the special status of a senator until recently. An earlier investigation, opened after a PSOE complaint to the Supreme Court prosecutor's office, was archived. The second complaint comes from a woman who is a member of Nuevas Generaciones, the PP youth organisation, and concerns an incident on 10 July in the mayor's office. According to El Mundo, which had access to the complaint, she went to the town hall that afternoon on a work matter, and the mayor invited her into his office to discuss a matter involving a third person. The complaint says he asked about moles on her chest, then placed his hand under her T-shirt and touched both breasts. She says she was in shock for days and later took sick leave after psychological care. A source familiar with the case told El País that the complaint alleges the party in Algeciras did not activate its anti-harassment mechanisms and that the events were covered up.

Council and party response

The provincial leadership says it respects the presumption of innocence. On Monday a written request asking Landaluce to leave office was registered at the town hall, signed by 12 of the 15 councillors in the governing team. Landaluce has consistently maintained his innocence and denied that the accusations are true.

Background and candidacy

Landaluce, 67, was born in Logroño in 1959 and trained as a doctor. He joined Alianza Popular in 1984, first ran for mayor in 2007 and began his first term as mayor in 2011 with 51.81% of the vote. After the first complaints he left the party and stepped down from the PP group in the Senate, joining the Mixed Group while keeping his seat. He had announced he would run as an independent in the next municipal elections in May, but the latest developments have put that decision in doubt. Whether he resigns, or the PP carries out its plan to withdraw councillors' support, remains open.